MACON, Ga. -- At a Bibb County Board of Education meeting Monday night, Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones discussed a new district-wide safety policy following an incident in which a student brought a loaded gun to class at Rosa Taylor Elementary.

Dr. Jones said that the district will begin implementing random bag checks in an attempt to avoid such situations in the future.

"What we've learned is that when a student goes through trauma it affects them for not just days, months - it can affect them for years. We need to have a safe learning environment. If parents feel comfortable that their students are coming to a safe place as well, and if that is taken care of, students have a better chance of learning," he said.

The superintendent said he spoke with several district principles who agreed that this would be the most practical solution.

Dr. Jones added that metal detectors and clear backpacks might also become policy, although he confirmed that this would be decided upon by each individual school.

According to Dr. Jones, having metal detectors would require students to show up to school early and would force the school to need someone on standby throughout the day with a wand to continue checking students. He added that since there are multiple entrances into each school, there would need to be multiple metal detectors.

He also said that clear backpacks aren't as sturdy as traditional ones and that a person can't always see everything inside of them.

Director of Safety and Security for Bibb County schools David Gowan will be giving the district a regulation on the new bag check policy within the next two weeks. The district expects to implement it in March.

Dr. Jones said that he hopes the new policy will encourage more students to come forward if they know something and said, "Students will tell us more if they know we care."